The present disclosure relates to a pivoting fitting for pivoting a flap, which is hinged on a furniture body.
Such pivoting fittings are used in order to automatically keep the flap pivoted about a horizontal axis in the open position on the one hand and to secure it in a closed position on the other hand, for which purpose it is pulled against the associated edges of the furniture body by the force of an energy accumulator, usually a tension spring.
Such a pivoting fitting is discussed in DE 296 05 551 U1. In this case, an energy accumulator formed as a tension spring engages on a lever arrangement, which is fastened on the one hand to a body wall and on the other hand to the flap, wherein the tension spring holds the flap both in an unfolded position and also pulls it in a closed position to the furniture body.
However, it is a problem in this case that, during pivoting of the flap, the flap must be guided manually in order to hold it against the force of the tension spring, which tends to pull the flap to a closed position, except when in the open position in which, as mentioned, the flap is held by the tension spring.
The handling during the pivoting of the flap is also problematic in that it is pulled in an almost unbraked manner to its closed position, so that it is pressed against the furniture body with a largely undiminished tensile force.
In order to provide a remedy, the use of a damping device has been proposed in DE 20 2005 016 375, with which the closing process or the striking of the flap on the furniture body is dampened.
Irrespective of the fact that the holding problem is not solved during pivoting, the known pivoting fittings can only be implemented with a large number of components, in particular with regard to necessary lever kinematics, which not only leads to considerable production costs but also makes mounting of the respective pivoting fitting more difficult.
A different design is also to be considered disadvantageous, in particular also with regard to sufficient service life, with which, as it were, a forced guidance of the flap is to be achieved and in which a cam is used in correspondence with a control cam, wherein the cam is spring-loaded.
Due to the necessarily high spring forces, the components involved in the movement sequence are subject to relatively high friction and high surface pressure, which can lead to damage to the control contour of the cam or to a roller guided thereon. This is obviously unacceptable, especially since the pivoting fitting is then impaired in its function and must be replaced at worst.
A new pivoting fitting according to the present disclosure may have relatively few components compared to a pivoting fitting according to the prior art. This results in low production costs, both as a result of economical use of materials as well as by shorter production times, which is important in so far as such pivoting fittings are used as serial articles in large quantities.
In an embodiment, a lever arrangement is formed by a four-bar chain known per se, the movement of which is supported by the control element in correspondence with the energy accumulator. In principle, however, all other lever arrangements can also be supported with the system.
In this case, the force of the energy accumulator, for example, a tension spring or a tension spring block, is applied by the control element to the lever arrangement, i.e. the articulated lever, in such a way that the flap remains automatically in a predetermined range of the pivoted position, i.e. it remains in equilibrium. In a pivoting range before the fully closed position or in a pivoting range of the fully open position, the flap can close or open automatically.
In an embodiment, the control element has a rotatable cam disk, having a control contour, on which a flexible traction means rests, the flexible traction means being attached to the cam disk and forming an extension of the energy accumulator.
In this case, the connection of the traction means, which may otherwise include a belt, a chain, a toothed belt, a cable or the like, can take place on the cam disk in such a way that the force direction of the energy accumulator in the closed position of the flap, relative to the pivoting direction, is positioned above the axis of a pivot pin carrying the control element and below in the open position, as a result of which the respective different rotational directions of the control element are supported.
This arrangement may provide for assistance with that the pivoting movement when the flap is pivoted, just before reaching the respective end position.
In an embodiment, the control element has, in addition to the cam disk, at least one further gear part which may be a pinion which is held in a rotationally fixed manner relative to the cam disk. This pinion cooperates with further gear elements, preferably with a toothed wheel segment which is fixedly connected to the articulated lever. In this case, the pinion and the cam disk can be pivoted about a common axis of rotation, which is formed by a pivot pin held on one side. Two opposing pivot pins are preferably provided, the axes of rotation of which are aligned and which are disposed at a distance from one another on the front side, wherein the pinion is mounted on one pivot pin and the cam disk on the other.
As mentioned, the new pivoting fitting enables the flap to remain in each intermediate pivoting position without support. For this purpose, the radius of curvature of a control cam of the cam disk varies in the course of the curve, which is adjusted to the torques which change depending on the pivoting position of the flap and act on the cam disk or the energy accumulator. In this case, the torque which is different in each pivoting position of the flap is essentially determined by the weight of the flap and the changing lever arm, resulting from the varying distance of the control contour from the axis of rotation of the control element.